Posts Tagged ‘evian’

In an age where we hear about how global warming is going to potentially extinguish our species, I would have imagined that an emission-free car running purely on any type of water (sea water, rain water, toilet water, & even tea) would be front page news everywhere.After all, automobiles are responsible for a big chunk of carbon dioxide emissions in America and elsewhere.Japanese company, Genepax, has done such a feat.It introduced a new fuel cell system, running only on water and air, in a working prototype car that can travel up to 50 miles per hour.Since any water will do, refueling is no problem anywhere.In an age where a hydrogen Honda still costs a cool $1 million to produce, Genepax’s fuel cell system only costs $18,500 and is likely to fall below $5,000 with mass production.In addition to cars, Genepax envisions a future where homes can also be powered using water from their fuel cell systems.

So where is the news coverage?There is no mention of this in the LA Times, NY Times, Washington Post, BBC, or CBC.I picked up the article from Tech-On, an English technology news website based out of Japan.Why isn’t this news in any of the major news outlets in the States and elsewhere?Should I just sit here and scratch my head baffled or start running around yelling conspiracy?!!??

A car that runs only on regular water is bad news for a lot of powerful folks, namely the oil companies.Even when petroleum runs out, Exxon Mobil and friends would love for you to continue to stop by their happy stations to pump in some nice hydrogen (and I’m sure they will come up with some reason to charge an exorbitant amount for it).But if your car ran purely on water from the faucet in your kitchen, a public bathroom (yes, gross), or even Evian if you are feeling extra snooty, what are the likes of Exxon Mobil and friends going to do?That gives you some food for thought on how companies like Shell are already building hydrogen refueling stations in California and how the automobile manufacturers are also pushing hydrogen cars as the end-all-be-all solution.My gut always told me that oil executives and auto executives play golf and drink scotch together at the same country club, but where do the news people fall in?Once again, why isn’t stuff like a car that runs on water big news when the Olsen twins makes news by eating an entire sandwich?

(Edit: Please read my followup post in response to many people’s comments that Genepax’s car is just a hoax).